Touch (TV series)

For the anime television series, see Touch (manga).
Touch
Genre Drama
Thriller
Created by Tim Kring
Starring
Composer(s) Wendy Melvoin
Lisa Coleman
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Dennis Hammer
  • Brynn Malone
  • Robert Levine
Cinematography
  • Curtis Wehr
  • Jeffrey C. Mygatt
  • Tom Yatsko
  • Jo Willems
Editor(s)
  • Scott Powell
  • Lauren A. Schaffer
  • Gregory T. Evans
  • Louis Cioffi
  • Howard Leder
  • Dody Dorn
  • Elisa Cohen
Running time 44–49 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor 20th Television
Release
Original network Fox
Picture format 720p (HDTV)
Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1
Original release January 25, 2012 (2012-01-25) – May 10, 2013 (2013-05-10)
External links
Website

Touch is an American thriller television series that ran on Fox from January 25, 2012, to May 10, 2013. The series was created by Tim Kring and starred Kiefer Sutherland.[1] During its first season the series aired regularly on Thursday nights beginning March 22, 2012.[2][3] Thirteen episodes were ordered for the first season,[4] with the two-episode season finale airing on Thursday, May 31, 2012.[5] On May 9, 2012, Fox renewed the show for a second season.[6] The second season was originally scheduled to begin Friday, October 26, 2012, but was pushed back to Friday, February 8, 2013.[7]

On May 9, 2013, Fox canceled Touch after two seasons.[8]

Plot

Touch centers on former reporter Martin Bohm (Sutherland) and his 11-year-old autistic son, Jake (David Mazouz). Martin's wife died in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, and he has been struggling to raise Jake since then, moving from job to job while tending to Jake's special needs. Jake has never spoken a word, but is fascinated by numbers and patterns relating to numbers, spending much of his days writing them down in notebooks, his touch-screen tablet and sometimes using objects (for instance popcorn kernels).

Season 1

Jake's repeated escapes from special schools put Martin's capacity to raise the child in question, and social worker Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) arrives to perform an evaluation of Jake's living conditions. Martin, worried that he might lose his son, attempts to communicate with him, but the boy only continues to write down a specific pattern of numbers. This leads Martin to discover Professor Arthur Teller (Danny Glover), who has seen and worked with cases like this before, claiming that Jake is one of the few who can see the "pain of the universe" through the numbers. Teller also alludes to the interconnectivity of humanity as envisioned by the Chinese legend of the red string of fate, whereby actions, seen and unseen, can change the fate of people across the globe for the better. Martin realizes that Jake is trying to tell him to follow the numbers. On subsequent days, Martin does as Jake wants, each time finding his actions improving those touched by the numbers, though his devotion to following Jake's message puts his evaluation with social services at risk.

A larger overarching plot involves Teller's work. Teller himself had seen the numbers during a stroke, and has been fascinated with them since. The sequence of numbers that Jake presents falls into what Teller claimed was the Amelia Sequence (later known as the God Sequence), based on Amelia Robbins, who was one of his former child patients. Teller later is found dead after attempting to locate Amelia at the same facility where Jake spends his days. Martin discovers his old office, rented out from a Jewish synagogue, where he performs further research on the Amelia Sequence. He also learns that Teller's office mate, Avram (Bodhi Elfman), recognizes Jake as one of the 36 Righteous Ones. Meanwhile, Clea learns that an organization called Aster Corps, which provides Jake's school with modern equipment, seems intent on studying Jake's abilities as well as having ties to Teller's previous work with Amelia. When Aster Corps attempts to force the state to relinquish Martin's custody rights, Martin, with Clea's help, is able to sneak Jake out and leave the city. Through Jake's directions, they end up meeting Amelia's mother, Lucy (Maria Bello), on a pier in Los Angeles.

Season 2

Martin, Jake, and Lucy gain help in their quest from news syndicate BreakWire and its owner, Trevor Wilcox (Greg Ellis). Jake starts to talk to Amelia in their telepathic world. They also encounter Calvin Norburg (Lukas Haas), a former Aster Corps genius who is trying to heal his brain-damaged brother, and a murderous former priest, Guillermo Ortiz (Saïd Taghmaoui), who is determined to eliminate all of the Righteous 36 in order to restore the natural order of the universe, with God on top. After Lucy is killed on the orders of Aster Corps CEO Nicole Farington (Frances Fisher), Martin discovers that Farington plans to capture Jake and Amelia in order to decipher the God Sequence and use its predictive qualities to save the failing company.

The season ends with Amelia losing her special powers and Jake being secretly marked as the special one of the 36 by the rabbi. Calvin loses his sick brother after all his efforts, and Martin becomes the sole protector of the 36. The God Sequence is finally fully revealed.

Cast and characters

Actor Character Seasons
1 2
Kiefer Sutherland Martin Bohm Main
David Mazouz Jacob "Jake" Bohm Main
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Clea Hopkins Main
Danny Glover Arthur Teller Main
Maria Bello Lucy Robbins Guest Main
Saxon Sharbino Amelia Robbins Guest Main
Lukas Haas Calvin Norburg Main
Saïd Taghmaoui Guillermo Ortiz Main

Main

Season one promotional poster

Recurring cast

Episodes

Production

Touch season one was shot at The Culver Studios in Culver City, CA, and on location in Los Angeles, CA. Season two was filmed at Fox Studios in Century City, CA.

Post-production

"Three Little Birds", sung by Kayla Graham (Karen David), was released as a soundtrack single, on iTunes by 20th Century Fox TV Records on February 28, 2012.[16]

Reception

Critical reception

The first season of the show was met with "generally favorable" reviews, and obtained a Metacritic score of 63/100.[17] The second season received "mixed or average" reviews with a Metacritic score of 60/100.[18]

Michael Landweber of PopMatters called the first episode "stunningly effective", and said that "its mix of spirituality and science, familial and global struggles, is galvanising." He also noted that "The boy's narration, unnervingly matter-of-fact about the nature of the universe, takes on more power when he reveals that in 11 years, he has never spoken a word."[19] In a review for the New York Post, Linda Stasi said "If you can't get enough of number sequences and universal cylindrical patterns that constantly repeat [...] then for sure you'll repeat the pattern of watching Fox's new show." She added, "Yes, the show is intriguing, and it's great to have Sutherland back on TV. But frankly, it's awfully complicated."[20] Lori Rackl of the Chicago Sun-Times said the show "operates on the mind-blowing premise that people around the world are linked to one another and their lives intersect—with potentially major repercussions". She finished the review saying it "delivers a suspenseful ride around the world, peppered with some tear-jerking moments. The bar has been set high. Here's hoping "Touch" continues to reach it."[21] Kiefer Sutherland's performance also gained praise, with Landweber saying "Sutherland, however, plays the part with such a combination of intensity and subtlety that we are drawn deep into Martin's suffering, and rather than judging him, we feel with him. Every trial is etched in his face. He imbued Jack Bauer with similar stoicism, but Martin seems less resilient, more distressed."[19]

Verne Gay of Newsday called the second season "more fun," adding "you have plain old smashmouth elemental TV story devices—good guys, bad guys, evil corporations, a family unit, and a headlong rush toward the Truth, whatever that may be."[22] The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger called the season "considerably darker and more complex," adding "The intricacies may make it harder for new viewers to crack the show without doing some catch-up watching, but they also make it far more absorbing."[23] David Hinckley of the Daily News found two problems with the second season—"characters like popups in a video game" and "as the action ramps up, Jake's gift recedes." He added, "The show still has some interesting things happening, and there are worse things on TV than a fast-paced action drama."[24]

Accolades

Year Association Category Nominee Result
2012 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Nominated
Outstanding Special Visual Effects Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Television Drama Show Nominated
Choice Actor: Drama Kiefer Sutherland Nominated
2013 Young Artist Awards[25] Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actor David Mazouz

Ratings

Touch debuted to over 12 million viewers in the pilot episode,[26] with the next episode pulling in more than 11.8 million. But ratings fell sharply after that, and the season one finale garnered just 4.6 million viewers.[27] After the first two episodes of season two, all of the remaining 11 episodes fell short of 3 million viewers, leading to the series cancellation.[28]

U.S. television ratings for Touch
Season Time slot (ET) # Ep. Premiered Ended TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
Date Premiere viewers
(in millions)		 Date Finale viewers
(in millions)
1
Thursday 9:00 pm
 13
January 25, 2012
 12.01[29]
September 14, 2012
 4.60[30] 2011–12 #45 9.18[31]
2
Friday 9:00 pm
 13
February 8, 2013
 3.94[32]
May 10, 2013[33]
 2.42[34] 2012–13 #121 3.65[35]

International distribution

Country Channel Premiere date
Australia Australia Network Ten
Fox8		 April 22, 2012
Austria Austria ORF eins February 27, 2012 (Pilot)
March 26, 2012 (regular)[36]
Brazil Brazil Fox Brasil March 19, 2012[37]
 China
Southeast Asia		 Fox Asia March 25, 2012
Belgium Belgium BeTV (in French) June 7, 2012
2BE September 3, 2012
Bulgaria Bulgaria bTV July 30, 2014
Canada Canada Global January 25, 2012[38]
addikTV (in French) September 25, 2012[39]
Croatia Croatia March 27, 2012
Czech Republic Czech Republic Prima Cool December 23, 2013
Denmark Denmark TV 2 January 19, 2013[40]
Finland Finland MTV3 October 9, 2012
France France M6 September 14, 2013
Germany Germany Pro 7 February 27, 2012 (pilot)[41]
March 26, 2012 (regular) (season 1)
January 24, 2015 (season 2)
Greece Greece
Cyprus Cyprus		 FX March 22, 2012
Hong Kong Hong Kong TVB Pearl December 18, 2012[42]
Hungary Hungary RTL2 October 13, 2013
India India STAR World India March 24, 2012
Israel Israel Yes Action March 20, 2012
Italy Italy Fox March 20, 2012[43]
Union of South American Nations Latin America
Argentina Argentina
Chile Chile
Colombia Colombia
Costa Rica Costa Rica
Ecuador Ecuador
El Salvador El Salvador
Paraguay Paraguay
Peru Peru
Uruguay Uruguay
Venezuela Venezuela		 Canal Fox March 19, 2012[44][45]
Lithuania Lithuania TV3 May 8, 2013
Republic of Macedonia Macedonia Fox Life March 27, 2012
Mexico Mexico Canal Fox March 19, 2012[44][45]
Canal 5 August 14, 2013
Netherlands Netherlands Fox NL August 23, 2013[46]
New Zealand New Zealand TV3 March 25, 2012[47]
Norway Norway TV 2 March 19, 2012
Philippines Philippines Jack TV and JACK City on BEAM TV 31 March 18, 2012[48]
Poland Poland Fox March 26, 2012[49]
Portugal Portugal Fox March 20, 2012[50]
Russia Russia Channel One March 25, 2012
Serbia Serbia March 27, 2012
Slovakia Slovakia TV JOJ June 20, 2014
Slovenia Slovenia March 27, 2012
Spain Spain Fox España March 22, 2012
Cuatro July 8, 2013[51]
Sweden Sweden Kanal 11 September 23, 2013[52]
Switzerland Switzerland Pro 7 February 27, 2012 (pilot)[41]
March 26, 2012 (regular)
RTS Un (in French) March 31, 2013
Taiwan Taiwan
Indonesia Indonesia
Malaysia Malaysia
Singapore Singapore
Thailand Thailand		 Fox Asia March 25, 2012
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Republic of Ireland Ireland		 Sky1 March 20, 2012[53]
Vietnam Vietnam STAR Movies Asia March 28, 2012

References

  1. 1 2 Crider, Michael (March 2, 2011). "New Plot Details Emerge for Tim Kring's Touch". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ Fox Broadcasting Company (December 1, 2011). "FOX Announces 2011–2012 Midseason Premiere Dates" (Press release). The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ Gorman, Bill (February 27, 2012). "'Touch' Premiere Moved To March 22, Bones Moves To Monday On April 2, The Finder Spring Finale On March 8". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  4. ↑ Schneider, Michael (September 22, 2011). "Fox Makes Kiefer Sutherland's Return to Primetime Official". TV Guide. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ The Futon Critic Staff (April 2, 2012). "Exclusive: FOX Books Two-Hour Touch Season Finale for May 31". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Hibberd, James (May 9, 2012). "Fox renews Touch, cancels Alcatraz". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Fox Pushes Touch Return To January, Slots Kitchen Nightmares On Fridays". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  8. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 9, 2013). "Touch Canceled by FOX After Two Seasons". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (June 7, 2011). "'Touch': David Mazouz Cast Opposite Kiefer Sutherland". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Gugu Mbatha-Raw joins Kiefer Sutherland in FOX's Touch". HitFix. June 10, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  11. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (June 9, 2011). "Danny Glover Joins Kiefer Sutherland in Fox's Drama Pilot Touch". TVLine. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  12. ↑ Bowman, Sabienna (October 25, 2012). "Touch Season 2 Cast Photos Introduce New Castmembers Maria Bello and Lukas Haas". TV Equals. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Touch - Season 2 - Casting News - Lukas Haas and Saxon Sharbino - Press Release". Spoiler TV. November 30, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ West, Kelly (August 3, 2012). "Touch Season 2 Adds Greg Ellis And Two More". TV Blend. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ Hinman, Michael (August 8, 2012). "'Touch' Beefs Up West Coast Cast". Airlock Alpha. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  16. ↑ Fox Broadcasting (February 28, 2012). Touch-"Three Little Birds" ('Making of' video). Fox Broadcasting. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Touch – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  18. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Touch Season 2". Metacritic.com. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  19. 1 2 Landweber, Michael (January 25, 2012). "'Touch': The First Episode Is Stunningly Effective". PopMatters. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  20. ↑ Stasi, Linda (January 25, 2012). "Kiefer is back". New York Post. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  21. ↑ Rackl, Lori (January 24, 2012). "Kiefer Sutherland makes a welcome return to TV in 'Touch'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  22. ↑ Gay, Verne (February 6, 2013). "'Touch' review: New season is more fun". Newsday. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  23. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (February 7, 2013). "And a Child Will Lead Them. But Where?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  24. ↑ Hinckley, David (February 7, 2013). "TV review: Touch". Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  25. ↑ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  26. ↑ Gorman, Bill (January 31, 2012). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang Theory' Top Week 19". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  27. ↑ Bibel, Sara (June 1, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: No Adjustments for 'Touch', 'Duets' or 'Rookie Blue'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  28. ↑ Fox Cancels Touch. ismyshowcancelled.com on May 9, 2013.
  29. ↑ Gorman, Bill (January 31, 2012). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang Theory' Top Week 19". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  30. ↑ Bibel, Sara (June 1, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: No Adjustments for 'Touch', 'Duets' or 'Rookie Blue'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  31. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (May 24, 2012). "Full 2011–2012 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  32. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (February 11, 2013). "Friday Final TV Ratings: 'Last Man Standing', 'Dateline', 'Shark Tank' & 'Rock Center' Adjusted Down + Final 'Touch' Premiere Ratings". Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  33. ↑ Kondology, Amanda (March 12, 2013). "FOX Announces New Season Finale Dates for 'New Girl', 'The Mindy Project', 'Kitchen Nightmares' and 'Touch'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  34. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 13, 2013). "Friday Final TV Ratings:'Kitchen Nightmares' Adjusted Up; No Adjustment for 'Nikita', 'Vegas' or 'Touch'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  35. ↑ http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/tv-season-series-rankings-2013-full-list/
  36. ↑ "Spektakulärer Auftakt für "Touch"". ORF. February 27, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Acusada de plágio, Touch faz sua estreia mundial". Veja. March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Huge premiere for Global's Touch with 1.9 million viewers" (pdf) (Press release). Shaw Media. March 23, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Quebecor Média: la saison des lancements se termine Touch". infopresse.com. June 15, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Global premiere på ny Kiefer Sutherland-serie". January 24, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  41. 1 2 "ProSieben schnappt sich "Touch"". quotenmeter.de. January 21, 2012.
  42. ↑ "命運點對點". December 18, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  43. ↑ "PFox Channels Italy conferma di aver acquistato Touch, il nuovo drama con Kiefer Sutherland!". badtv.it. December 5, 2011.
  44. 1 2 "Fox One Stop Media: Touch". foxonestop.com.
  45. 1 2 "Touch". canalfox.com. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Touch". Fox NL. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  47. ↑ "Touch on TV3 New Zealand". TV3.
  48. ↑ "New drama series Touch premieres this March". March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Touch". Fox (Poland).
  50. ↑ "Kiefer Sutherland regressa à Fox para a estreia mundial de Touch". Fox (Portugal).
  51. ↑ "Cuatro estrena 'Touch', la serie protagonizada por Kiefer Sutherland". July 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  52. ↑ "TV4 – sämst i klassen på att förvalta sina inköpta serier". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). September 24, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  53. ↑ "Sky 1 Moves UK Premiere Date For Touch". TVWise. February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
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